Sen. John McCain is praising the recent wave of pro-illegal immigration demonstrations, saying that if the protesters hang tough they will succeed in forcing Congress to liberalize immigration laws.

“If such demonstrations continue, I think we will have a bill for the President to sign soon,” the Arizona Republican told a New York City gathering on Friday sponsored by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.

“The more debate, the more demonstrations, the more likely we will prevail,” McCain added, in quotes picked up by the New York Daily News.